Grant: Adrian Beltre's homers come when it counts, but Rangers slugger needs help

3/24

Patrick Semansky/AP

Texas Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar, right, chases after a ground ball by Baltimore Orioles' J.J. Hardy that he bobbled as teammate Adrian Beltre looks on in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in Baltimore. Hardy was safe at first on the play. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BALTIMORE — When he unveiled a lineup Tuesday that featured Elvis Andrus, homerless for the season, hitting sixth, manager Ron Washington acknowledged the obvious: The Rangers need more right-handed power.

Then again, with Adrian Beltre, maybe not.

Beltre homered, twice, in fact. The Rangers won, 8-4, over Baltimore. The two events go hand-in-hand. Since Beltre joined the team for 2011, the Rangers are now 73-10 when he homers. Maybe it is purely coincidence. Maybe, it isn’t.

“You should hear our dugout when he hits a homer,” Washington said. “It is so loud in there. There is so much respect, and it relaxes everybody and it infiltrates throughout the lineup. He’s the man.”

And then, for emphasis, he repeated: “The Man.”

The dugout becomes a mess of players, led by Andrus, trying to grab Beltre’s helmet. Then comes the head-patting, which Beltre says he hates. Then come the comedic lines.

“I think they like messing with me more than whatever just happened,” Beltre said. “But in that situation, I guess it’s OK.”

It has been just that — a routine — for the last week as the Rangers have once again rebounded from a rut in the road. Beltre has homered six times in the Rangers’ last six games. The Rangers are 5-1 and won all four of the games in which he homered.

Make no mistake, despite the results, Beltre could use some help, particularly when the opposition starts a lefty. The Rangers began the day ranked 10th in the AL in OPS vs. left-handed pitchers. Naturally, crafty Baltimore manager Buck Showalter set up his rotation to have lefty Zach Britton of Weatherford pitch Tuesday to be followed by lefty Wei-Yin Chen on Wednesday.

The Rangers, in the meantime, are looking at the trade market and have scouted the Chicago White Sox’s Alex Rios, but there are questions about taking on close to $20 million in salary for the next 11/2 for a 32-year-old player who has never hit more than 25 homers or driven in 100 runs in a season.

Of course, the situation becomes trickier by the day as teams load up with lefties to face the Rangers. And on Tuesday, yet another ESPN report surfaced suggesting that suspensions related to the BioGenesis Clinic scandal could be forthcoming in the next two weeks. Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz, the team’s leading home run hitter and a right-handed hitter, is caught up in the scandal.

So every meaningful hit Beltre provides gives the Rangers a little extra wiggle room on making decisions. They have added Manny Ramirez on a minor league contract, and he homered for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday, but it remains unclear if the 41-year-old can still be a significant run-producer.

There is no doubt, however, that Beltre still is. On Tuesday, his two homers and a bloop single produced the first five-RBI game of the season for a Ranger. He gave young Martin Perez an early lead, then after Perez gave it back, Beltre hit a three-run homer to give the Rangers the lead for good. In the ninth, his two-out bloop single made it a four-run game and allowed Washington to hold off on using closer Joe Nathan. Cory Burns pitched the ninth.

“He barely ever hits a homer when it doesn’t matter,” said Andrus, who plays the role of little brother/child/antagonist in the Rally Beltre skit. “They always tie the game or give us the lead. They make a difference. And when he does it, we seem to take advantage.”

The kid’s got a point. Of Beltre’s 20 homers this season, eight have given the Rangers the lead and another has tied a game. Compare that with Cruz, who also had a big two-out, game-tying hit ahead of Beltre’s second homer. Cruz has 22 homers, seven of which have tied the game or given the Rangers the lead.

Or compare the Rangers’ record when Beltre homers with that of other teams when their slugger homers. Detroit entered the day 63-28 since 2011 when Miguel Cabrera homered. Toronto: 46-33 when Jose Bautista homered. Those are the only two players to homer in more games than Beltre since the start of 2011.

“I don’t think I’ve been great at the plate,” Beltre said. “But I’m working, and I think I’m getting better. I think we all contribute some way or another. As a group, we are good.”

But, just for security’s sake, he added: “I guess I should homer more often.”

Catch Evan Grant’s Ranger Reports all season on The Ticket (KTCK-1310 AM) on Tuesdays at 9:35 a.m. with The Musers, Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. with The Hardline and Thursdays at 2:15 p.m. with BaD Radio.

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